How does my garden grow? Pretty well, so far! I have tomatoes on the vine, beans almost blooming, a zucchini almost ready to eat, and baby bell peppers! And best of all - few weeds! I still have some around the bean plants, so this weekend I'll be weeding, but that is about it!



I made up a pair of sandals to go with the pink flip flops too! I have repeat order for a co-worker, so I need to get that started.



AJ went to his heart specialist on Tuesday - his appointment was at 4:00, but we didn't see the doctor until 5:30 (he was called out for an emergency procedure) Since I had so much time on my hands, I finished a doily I have had started for three months! It got put aside to work on baby stuff. I went to pin it out when I got home, and I had a bit of help!



AJ's appointment went well - the doctor changed his meds around and bumped him forward in the queue for his procedure. He is scheduled now for either August 11th or 12th - I'm waiting for final word for the date. I got his new prescription filled yesterday, and about 30 minutes after he took his first dose, he said it was working- his heart rate was dropping. Yippee!

Repeat of yesterday - It's hot! I think it was 105 yesterday - hot! I got an early (as usual) start to my day and got the laundry done and hanging on the line before I dashed off to Sacramento. While I was hanging my last load, I realized the swamp cooler was making an odd noise (this was about 9:00 a.m. - it had probably been making it for a while, but it didn't register!) Ralph came out and took a look at it, and it wasn't getting any water - no wonder it was so hot in the house the day before! Ralph and Alli took a trip to town while I ran down to Sacramento. All fixed! I don't know that is was that much cooler in the house last night, but the swamp can only do so much when it gets over 100. Alli and I did go for a refreshing swim in the late afternoon - lovely!

What happens when you don't fold the towels before you leave? They become a bed! Picot loves the clean towel basket - and I have to admit, of all the clean clothes that I fold immediately - towels are the one thing I will let sit! I don't care if they wrinkle! Everything else is folded and put away as soon as I take it out of the drier (okay - usually)



I finished up a project I started 6 weeks ago - and it wasn't that big a project! It is about 7 inches across - and isn't that pretty! It is a pattern that is part of a 'challenge' series - and I needed to finish it - just to make it go away! I have so many WIP's (Works in Process) right now - I need to finish up a few, before I start anything else! (Like that is going to happen, I know!) At least this one is done!



I also 'almost' finished another couple of pairs of baby booties - little sandals that just need the ends woven in and buttons put on for closing, and another set of flip-flops (these are completely done). I have one more baby hat I want to make as well, and then ship off the package to the expectant mother. One more project (almost) done!

The summer has arrived - we had our first day of over 100 degree temps. Not bad for the end of June! More hot days are on the horizon - they are forecasting 105 for today. And I have to drive to Sacramento - lovely! I'll be on the sunny side of the car both ways. AJ is supposed to be be done by 2:00, but it might be earlier, so I am planning on leaving around 9:00, and taking my crochet and a book. You'll find me sitting in the shade somewhere, waiting. I'll be busy though - take a look at this little flip-flops I made last night - too cute!



I still have some more baby things I want to get made, so will be focusing on them for a while.

It was definitely hot yesterday - poor Rufus camped out under the ceiling fan in the dining room.



Alli and I went for a swim before dinner - very cooling! Ralph even got in with us - not that he does a lot of swimming, but he floated around with us, and Alli and I splashed him.

Ralph's niece called this morning - her daughter Loren died last night. It was very sudden, and of unknown causes. Poor Kathy! Loren was in her mid 30's (I think - She will always be a shy teenager to me.) developmentally disabled, and lived separately from her mom.

It's Saturday! And I don't have to do anything! No appointments, no meetings, no running around! I do need to go to the grocery store, clean house, pull weeds, work in the yard, etc. but - if I don't get it done, that's okay.

I took off work yesterday at noon and drove AJ and another scout down to Sacramento for a weekend camping trip - the last before they go to Jamboree next month. I have to go pick them up on Sunday. It was a nice drive - a bit quiet - both boys listened to their music on the way down. I can't believe it is just a month until AJ is off to Jamboree - 2 weeks of touring the East Coast and camping (with 40,000+ other scouts) at Jamboree. The summer is flying by!

I made an impulse buy the other day, and am so glad I did! I found the pattern for baby flip flops - which are perfect for summer babies in Redding! Just too cute! These are ready to go to Stephanie (who is due in August, and got the safari afghan) and I need to whip up some more for a couple of other babies I know. A co-worker has a brand new granddaughter coming to visit in a couple of weeks, and I am planning on making a couple of pairs - embellished with flowers and beads - I can hardly wait!



Picot has been rescued once again from Haven Humane - Ralph picked her up after she got spayed yesterday. Poor baby! Both of them! Ralph took Alli with him to pick up the cat, and Alli wasn't happy about getting out of the car. While he was listening to the lady give instructions about the care and feeding of Picot, Alli slipped out the door when someone else was leaving, and Ralph turned around, and Alli was gone! Panic mode! Poor guy! Alli had walked across the parking lot and was getting into the car by the time he caught up with her. Both are doing well now - though we laughed at the instructions that said "keep your pet calm and quiet for 10 days". We couldn't keep her calm and quiet for 10 minutes! She is officially ours now - we finally got her adopted.

Busy day yesterday, but fun! I started off with taking AJ in at 8:00 for his second driver's training meeting. The place he started with wen t out of business, so this was the first time he had met this instructor. Then, off to get Alli a hair cut. Cindy changed the layers around a bit on her hair, but still a similar style. The, off to church for a work day! Most of the 'ladies' of the church had started much earlier than I got there, so all the yard work was done, which left the fun projects like painting and cleaning gutters, etc. Ralph dropped AJ off after his lesson and took Alli with him, so AJ and I stayed until at noon. Then, off to pick up Alli, and to the grocery store and Walmart. Then, home to clean and cook! Larry and Pat came by for an early Father's Day BBQ and we had a fun and delicious dinner! Busy day!


AJ was the only one there tall enough to reach the very tip top of the windows!



The garden is growing, finally! I still don't have beans in the first row (just weeds), or at least not more than half a dozen plants. I have green peppers and a couple of cherry tomatoes. The tomatoes are hard to see - they are smaller than a marble, but they are there.

Since I cleaned up the house yesterday for company, I won't have to do a lot to it today, just pick up cat toys, dog toys, and Alli toys. My laundry is on the last load already, too. I hope to get to a couple of projects I've put aside the last few weeks. I do need to go in to work for a couple of hours (or less) today. It is amazing what I can get done without the phone ringing! Next week is going to be very busy because we are short handed, so I hope to get ahead of the game a little bit today.

I (almost) finished up another project! I made coasters for co-workers, and finished up 5 of them - I still need two more, and another one for me! The bank. decided in its infinite wisdom, that only a coffee mug and clear glasses can be on our desks now - no soda cans, no soda cups or coffee cups from Starbucks, etc. Truly, that isn't such a big deal, but....we are on the second floor, behind locked doors, and no one sees us, so what does it matter? Oh well! In order to make the moment a bit more uplifting, I made coasters for everyone. They turned out pretty cute. I handed them out yesterday at one of our meetings - now to finish the last couple!

Little Miss Picot has made weight! She weighs about 3 1/2 pounds now. She has grown a little bit, but she is still very tiny. Her spirit is big - she thinks she is as big as Rufus. She is so cute playing with him, and he is so gentle. She just gets a mouthful of fur when she attacks!

So far, it's been a quiet morning - It is after 6:30, and Alli isn't up yet (though I think I hear her playing in her room now). Yesterday was a different story - she was up at 5:00! No sleeping in on my day off! I did get a lot of things done yesterday, maybe because she got me up early? (Though I still would rather have slept in!) Hopefully today is productive as well - I still have a ton of things on my to-do list. I fell asleep on the couch last night at about 9:30!

The weather finally decided to give us summer. It was sunny and clear and warm yesterday - the high I saw was about 87. Beautiful! Perfect! If only it would stay that way. It was a bit windy, which I could do without. The weed cloth in the garden is getting blown about, and the plants are not happy about it! Once the plants are big enough, it will be better, but the little guys are getting beat up by the cloth. I put more weights out on the cloth, so between them and no wind, everything should be better! I replanted a row of beans - only about 6 plants came up in one row. The "purple" green beans came up beautifully, but the 'french' green beans didn't like my garden at all. This is their last chance, and I will plant another row of 'purple' beans.

Finished! Nothing like waiting until the last minute, but....it's done! The toy giraffe turned out very cute - I think I'll make one up in light blue with dark blue spots - just too cute!

Progress! And I think it even looks like a giraffe! All I have to do now is the face and the spots. I even got the tails on the giraffes on the afghan. I think I'm going to tie some of the leaves down a bit more securely as well, if I have time tonight. I need to take it to work tomorrow!

It figures! I procrastinated long enough that I now have a deadline looming! Stephanie's shower is this weekend, and I have the afghan finished (except for finishing - I need to put the tails on the giraffes) and I started the giraffe toy a couple of weeks ago. The toy went very quickly, so it kind of got put aside for other stuff (like reading, watching TV and baseball games, cleaning, sleeping, etc.) and now - I've got to get it done before Friday! Worse than that, I went to finish it Sunday night, and.....I ran out of yarn! Only one leg left, and it is two inches short! When I think of all the long ends I left on all the other pieces, just to make sure I had enough to sew everything together, I could just scream! So, yesterday, after a long (and stressful) day at work, I ran over to Michael's and picked up some more yarn. I still didn't work on it last night - too tired to concentrate after dinner.



It won't take long to finish it, but....tonight is scout's, and I need to bake a birthday cake tonight, so I won't work on it tonight, so that leaves me just Wednesday and Thursday night to get everything finished and wrapped up. And I was ahead of schedule, too! Maybe next time!

The garden is in! I put in the flowers yesterday, and covered the rest of it in weed fabric. Ralph turned the sprinklers on before I got a picture, so I have a bit of a mist in the photos. I'm so happy it is done - 6 weeks late! I hope I get some produce out of it now. It has been such a cool spring/summer that I don't know what it is going to do. We are in June, and it is only supposed to be 80 today. 8o! That is quite often our low!
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I turned my back, and the garden is growing! Okay, so some of the beans have sprouted, but hey - it's growing! We have had blustery weather all week - rainy and windy, but not cold, and the beans popped right up. The cucumbers and squash are still a bit yellow from hanging out waiting to be planted, but I can't fix that until we get some sunshine. I don't think I even walked out to check on the garden because it's been raining when I get home lately. As you can also see, I have flowers that still need to be planted, and I haven't gotten that far yet. Hopefully today!



I also had company when I was out in the garden, sort of.

Allergies seemed to have hit Alli really hard over the weekend, so I gave her some allergy medicine over the last few days, and she did nothing but sleep! Yesterday, she fell asleep at daycare in the morning before the bus came, and they had a hard time waking her up. Last night she was the crankiest thing I have seen in a long time. Then, this morning at 4:00 a.m., she woke up all bright eyed and bushy tailed. She is raring to go now, but I am exhausted! I went to bed early last night because I didn't feel good, and I still don't feel good this morning. Can I call in sick to work? Probably not, unless I'm contagious. I already have one person out on vacation, and I'm still trying to catch up from last month. Bummer! I really don't feel that bad, just not good.

Today is Alli's last day of school. AJ has one more week, though. The best part - no more making lunches in the morning for Alli - at least until August. Her summer program has lunch provided, and if she doesn't each lunch, she will survive until she gets to daycare to eat - school is out at noon. The summer school has free sack breakfast and lunch as part of the program, so - no more lunches for me! (It is the little things in life, really!)